3 at the Vet

On Monday, I took two tortoises and a beardie to the vet. It's because I had paid off my rescue credit card on Saturday! Ha! A $0 balance must mean a vet visit! 

Lolly had her jaw bitten by grumpy Loner Leo who managed to sneak into her tortoise box. It ended up being okay and Dr Folland thinks her runny nose is because her eyes are so misshapen that they drain onto her face & nose. She was an easy visit-- except for her pooping all over. 

Gramps has been acting very lethargic and sickly lately. During his physical examination, Dr F found a mass in Gramps' belly that felt like a bubble or blister with a hard center. When he aspirated the lump with a needle, he immediately pulled out black fluid (bile) and then nothing else. Both bad signs. For some reason, Gramps' gall bladder is HUGE. It's encapsulated in a bile filled bubble. Sadly Gramps' mouth is a mess too-- he has very few teeth and mostly exposed jaw bone because his lower jaw is so messed up.

Gramps is old and in poor health. We are giving him a week of force feeding to see if his gallbladder will empty itself, and, if not, I believe we will choose to let him be done. :( He's not eating on his own and he's been super stressed and more sickly since his gallbladder was messed with. Also bad signs. In the past two days, he has hidden in his tank under his blankies or under the paper towels. His colors are poor and he seems in pain. Poor baby. I wish I could make up for his poor life, but 7+ years is a long time to be neglected.

Red is a 5 year old sulcata that weighs 3 pounds (and she lost weigh in the last month). Her buddy Bunsen (who just went to a new home in St George, Utah) is also 5 and weighs over 13 pounds. He eats & drinks & poops & motors around without stopping. Red, on the other hand, doesn't move. She's been like a pet rock. I gave her a month of good heat, lots of sunshine, the offer of food all the time, and there was no change. Her nose still drips and she still sleeps all the time. That's why I took her to the vet.

We didn't do anything with Red on Monday, but she's at the vet all day today. They will sedate her, draw blood, and take an x-ray. Hopefully the blood work & x-ray will show us what is wrong with her. I'm not overly hopeful since she's not grown at all since I got her two months ago (you can see their new growth easily on their bellies). I think whatever is wrong with her is serious and I'm anxious to hear if Dr Folland finds anything obvious.

Rescues 179, 180, 181, & 182 at the Vet

The four tortoises I kept from last week made a trip to the vet today to make sure they weren't too sick.

The big sulcata tort is a male and his name is Bunson.
The cherry head is most likely a female and her name is Chiquita.
The smaller sulcata is a female and her name is Red.
The Greek tortoise is a male and his name is Gonzo.

Also, baby Lolly went along for a quick well check and beak trim.

 Top of pic to bottom-- Chiquita, Red, Gonzo, Lolly 

Bunson was NOT happy in his box and got to roam around. 

Gonzo & Lolly both got beak trims. 

All 5 tortosies will stay in quarantine for another couple weeks and then we will see if their respiratory infections improve with adequate heat and a good diet. If they don't, I'll take them back in for treatment. 

Bunson's shell is softer than it should be and he will need a lot more outside time and a much better diet to help him get better. 

Thankfully the visit only came to $385. I was expecting over $500. I could still use some help paying for it though. If you'd like to donate to help pay for their care, please use my PayPal link HERE.